Beginning and city light

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dossett
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:31 am
Real Name: Aaron Niskode-Dossett

Beginning and city light

Post by dossett »

Hi all,

I've thought about buying my first telescope and I live inside the Minneapolis city limits (albeit it at the very edge, I can see Edina from my house so I'm not in the middle of downtown). Realistically what would the quality of my viewing be with a entry-ish level telescope, say a Celestron 5SE or maybe even an 8SE at my house? How far out of town would I need to go to get a big improvement in viewing?

Thanks everyone!
"Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another." -- Plato

Skywatcher 100mm on a Celestron AVX mount
Celestron 9.25" Evolution SCT
10x50 Midas G2 binoculars
rdavidjohnson63
Posts: 496
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 3:07 pm
Real Name: Dave Johnson

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by rdavidjohnson63 »

I suggest you get on the list to borrow one of the club's loaner scopes. We have a Celestron 5 and 8 so you can see for real what you will get, then make your decision.
Go to the main page and find the loaner scope program under the members tab near the top of the page.
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tugger
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2016 12:57 pm
Real Name: Robert Miller

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by tugger »

Hello!

I used to live by the airport and can tell you there is a huge difference in light pollution between minneapolis and all of our sites.

I would follow Dave's advice and borrow a scope before making a purchase.
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dhawley
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Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:10 am
Real Name: Darin Hawley

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by dhawley »

I just purchased a light pollution filter but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I'm curious to know if other's use them and if they're worth the investment.
Darin Hawley, MAS Member Since 01/2021
SkyWatcher Classic 200P 8" Dobsonian (first scope!)
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merle
Posts: 3962
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:04 am
Location: Farmington / Lakeville

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by merle »

rdavidjohnson63 wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:29 am I suggest you get on the list to borrow one of the club's loaner scopes.
This is assuming you are a MAS member...


Merle
Clear skies,
Merle Hiltner
MAS Eagle Lake Observatory
Onan Observatory • Sylvia A. Casby Observatory • HotSpot Classroom
merle.hiltner@gmail.com
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clayton
Posts: 1363
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:51 pm
Real Name: Clayton Lindsey
Location: Woodbury, MN

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by clayton »

Realistically what would the quality of my viewing be with a entry-ish level telescope, say a Celestron 5SE or maybe even an 8SE at my house?
Guessing from https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ you are probably a Bortle 8/9

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_scale


8 City sky NELM 4.1–4.5
The sky is light gray or orange – one can easily read
Stars forming familiar constellation patterns may be weak or invisible
M31 and M44 are barely glimpsed by an experienced observer on good nights
Even with a telescope, only bright Messier objects can be detected
limiting magnitude with 12.5" reflector is 13

9 Inner-city sky NELM 4.0
The sky is brilliantly lit
Many stars forming constellations are invisible and many fainter constellations are invisible
Aside from the Pleiades, no Messier object is visible to the naked eye
The only objects to observe are the Moon, the planets, and a few of the brightest star clusters

How far out of town would I need to go to get a big improvement in viewing?
Visually I really like being in at least a Bortle 4 (CGO-75min), My home is Bortle 6 ( Woodbury), I feel lucky when I can be under Bortle 2 (LLCC-3hrs) and blessed when am in Bortle 1 ( Black Mesa, Chile).

Other members do spectacularly well in bright skies.

Some MAS members observed from Carver Park Reserve in Victoria in 2019 Bortle 5, you need a permit.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7958&p=51480&hilit=permit#p51480
If this is still available it might be good for you for a short night. You can head out to ELO when you have some time.

There's an old thread on distance viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7744&p=37865&hilit= ... ark#p37865

https://astrobackyard.com/the-bortle-scale/
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/1 ... ted-skies/
Clayton Lindsey
dossett
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:31 am
Real Name: Aaron Niskode-Dossett

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by dossett »

Thank you, everyone! I will definitely look into the loaner program and will also be at the "star party" next week.

Thank you, Clayton, for those links -- I learned a lot.
"Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another." -- Plato

Skywatcher 100mm on a Celestron AVX mount
Celestron 9.25" Evolution SCT
10x50 Midas G2 binoculars
dossett
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:31 am
Real Name: Aaron Niskode-Dossett

Re: Beginning and city light

Post by dossett »

So thanks to the great MnAstro loaner program I was able to spend a couple hours last night looking through
a Celestron 8E in my backyard.

Between the downtown glow, streetlights, and neighborhood geography my options
were limited but I was able to see nice views of:
- The orion nebula
- Pleiades
- Mars (albeit a very, very small view)
- Rigel, Betelgeuse, Sirius and a couple of other bright stars in that direction

The Orion Nebula in particular was really amazing, even with all the ambient light. My 9 year old was
just as amazed as I was and even brought out her sketch book and drew Orion and the Big Dipper after
we we talked about those formations.

We're looking forward to the next clear night and will try to get a little bit further out to see some new things.

Thanks again everyone for the advice and to MnAstro for the loaner!

Best, Aaron
"Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another." -- Plato

Skywatcher 100mm on a Celestron AVX mount
Celestron 9.25" Evolution SCT
10x50 Midas G2 binoculars
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